A Night in Konoha
by time2read
Summary: The war between the Senju and Uchiha is over but the peace is shaky. A young Sarutobi has trouble sleeping. And a hateful Madara attempts assassination. Night's in Kohana are not always peaceful.


If you like this story you might want to check out to be hokage and promises made promises kept by Isilarma. Well enjoy and review!

* * *

**A Night in Konoha**

It was night in Konoha the village hidden in the Leaf. The war with the Uchiha was finally over. A restless ease had settled over the village. The first Hokage sat at his desk using the light of the moon to read not bothering to light a candle. Hashirama sighed as he looked over the various scrolls of requests that were slowly pouring into the village. Despite a rough start it seemed all was going well or as well as it could go for a village formed of bitter rivals. He had initially thought that the women of the Uchiha and Senju who had lost sons, brothers and husbands in the war would be the hardest to reconcile. However it was mostly the men Hashirama had clashes with lately, namely one man, Uchiha Madara.

He had hoped that Madara would if not forgive or forget but maybe put aside his still simmering anger at the death of his brother. Madara had been lately seen trying to "instigate" some sort of tear in the Uchiha compound. Hashirama had feared that it could restart the feud. He had been surprised then at how many Uchiha truly wanted this peace to last. He had spoken to Madara after the incident. Thankfully Madara had listened, this time around. But what had he truly expected? Could he blame Madara? If he had lost Tobi, if he had lost his last remaining brother how would he himself live on? Granted there was Mito with her luxurious red hair and beautiful smile. He was planning to propose to her soon, right after he figured out the right words to say. He was, and others might laugh at this, planning to ask Tobi to help him. He had always wondered how Tobi found out that he liked Mito. Was this guilt that he felt now at having his own brother still among the living what Madara felt day to day this all-consuming sadness? Even imagining his brother in a near death scenario made his heart ache.

Hashirama let out another sigh wondering whether to see if his brother was still awake. He had a few dilemmas and ideas he wanted his brother's opinion on but if Tobi was asleep he didn't want to wake him. They had just returned from that "vacation" he had suggested. It had as Tobirama predicted ended with a skirmish leaving him sightless for a period of time do to an unknown genjutsu. His ototo had then proceeded to mold chakra for hours helping them avoid various patrols until they were found by a search party. Of course Tobirama did nothing by halves and although he had his pride by the end of the trip Hashirama was dragging his body back to the village and then lectured him about chakra exhaustion.

oooo

Eight year old Hiruzun Sarutobi shot up from his bed trying to rub away the images of the blood red eyes that killed his otousan and kaasan. The war with the Uchiha was over he knew that but he would never forget that day. The Uchiha attacked the night after a huge battle. With the best sensors out of commission or out of chakra the Uchiha had, had no problem slipping past the Senju alliance defenses. He closed his eyes and tried to clear his mind like his sensei had taught him. But the images kept assailing him. The three tomoe of the sharingan spun as they took away first Homura then Koharu and then finally his sensei like they took away his parents. Maybe it was because his sensei had just returned from a mission with chakra exhaustion or maybe because Homura had stopped acting like the stuck up prat that he was Hiruzun had to double check to show his hyperactive subconscious that there was absolutely nothing to be worried about.

The teammate living closest to him was Koharu. Losing her father to the war she lived with her mother who was a kunoichi in a small apartment. He cloaked his chakra as best he could and ran over several rooftops until he landed on her windowsill. He peaked inside without opening the window. Satisfied that his teammate was alive and well he dropped down and passed several houses before he reached Homura's window. In his haste he landed all wrong and would have fallen off if a hand hadn't shot out of the open window and grabbed him by the scruff of the collar.

"Yo, dobe!" Homura said as he yanked his teammate inside. Sarutobi noticed that a candle was lit and Homura was reading a sealing scroll. Sarutobi rocked on the balls of his heels nervously as Homura pushed up his glasses. "Hey!" He grinned sheepishly rubbing the back of his head. He hadn't thought of a scenario where his teammates would actually be awake. Homura studied him briefly. "You leave something behind baka?"

"Baka yourself!" Hiruzun shot back just wanted to borrow a scroll he improvised. It was well known that the Mitokado owned one of the largest libraries in Konoha so the excuse would hopefully work. He didn't care much if the sharingan came to take this stuck up bastard, well not really. "Come back in the morning when it's open Saru." Homura chuckled using the endearing name "monkey" Tobirama had given him as praise for his agility and speed except from Homura it sounded like a jibe. "I will teme!" Hiruzun huffed and jumped down from the windowsill and headed for the Senju compound.

When Hiruzun first saw his sensei he had hated him. The crimson eyes reminded him of the Sharingan and his blank face was infuriating. His parents had died in the war he didn't need a "babysitter." He had been perfectly happy in learning from his uncle until the head of the Senju clan, Hashirama, and now first Hokage decided to see whether the side branched of the Senju and smaller clans could work together. But Sensei had somehow ignored the hate he radiated. He now felt rather embarrassed that he had threatened to kill his Sensei on their first meeting during the bell test. Tobirama had wholeheartedly agreed while laughing at this statement and told him that when he was strong enough he was free to come and try to kill him. Sensei had saved him Koharu and Homura countless times on their missions. He was strong and brave. When Hiruzun grew up he wanted to be as cool as his own Sensei.

The Senju compound that had been once lively and filled with light and warmth was now dark and mostly empty. A desolate wind seemed to constantly permeate the area. Although the Uchiha had lost many of their shinobi during the war with the Senju it was the Senju who had suffered the greatest number of casualties. The alliances with the other clans were what had kept the Senju able to match the numbers of the Uchiha. Sarutobi used the barest amount of chakra and balanced on the windowsill of his Sensei's bedroom.

oooo

Tobirama may have had one of the worst cases of Chakra depletion the Konoha hospital had thus far encountered but he wasn't dubbed the best sensor of the village for nothing. Being a light sleeper from his days on border patrol's he awoke when he felt the wind shift indicating that someone had decided to interrupt his rest. Usually it was his brother with one capricious thing or other but not able to mold chakra he cracked an eye open.

This didn't startle his student who was perched by his now window staring at him.

He sighed. "Saru what are you doing here?"

"I," there was a remorseful pause. "I couldn't sleep." Sarutobi was an extremely talented Shinobi but even Tobirama realized that he was still a child. "Have you cleared your mind like I taught you?"

Sarutobi nodded. Tobirama grunted as he pushed himself into a sitting position and looked back up at his student taking in the circles under his student's eyes he sighed again. "What did you see?"

There was a pause during which Sarutobi looked briefly away. "Nothing just couldn't sleep," he mumbled his eyes then settled on Tobirama full of determination probably ready to start denying that his dreams had nothing to do with his parents nor losing his fellow shinobi. Tobirama knew that these were most likely the dreams his student couldn't sleep from because he had them himself. Mostly they were about losing Hashirama but occasionally they had his hyperactive students as well. He was an adult however and he dealt with them. This is what his brother wanted when he created the village. Children learning, happy, playing together not living in an endless cycle of death and hate.

He sighed again trying to rub away the migraine which would soon make itself fully known if he didn't get more rest soon. "Would it make you feel better if you slept here tonight?" Tobirama asked he stumbled as he slid from his bed and stretched out on the floor. He had slept on far worse things than clean wood and in far worse conditions. He could recall a night he was forced to sleep on the ground during a rainstorm the mud had as he predicted infected the various bruises he sported and the day after he was needed on the battlefield. That had been a nightmare. Sarutobi was still perched on the windowsill hesitant. "Would that really be okay Sensei? You have chakra exhaustion."

"I will have student exhaustion if you don't stop whining and go to sleep right now." Tobirama slurred as his body began shutting down against his will. It seemed Hashirama was right about his Chakra levels. He heard something land on his bed right before he was thrown into oblivion.

oooo

Uchiha Madara slung his Gunbai around as he strapped it to his back. Today he would leave the village and his clan which had so forsaken him to go looking for the beast. He would return of course to utterly destroy Konoha with it. He chuckled as he remembered Hashirama's face by the Uchiha stone monument earlier that day. Hashirama had asked him to tell him of his dream. Of how when to opposing forces unite real happiness could be obtained. But Hashirama would never understand. This world in all of its mediocrity was nothing compared to the happiness his eye of the moon plan would bring. But first he had to show Hashirama what it meant to lose the world. Perhaps then he would realize that Madara had the right idea. He would even thank Madara for giving him back all his brothers when he cast his ultimate genjutsu. No more death, no more pain.

oooo

Hashirama took off jogging to the compound trying to get some exercise in and stretch his stiff arms and legs from sitting too much. He had finished another stack of head splitting documents which he called a good day. Now all that was left was to go check on his baka of an ototo who might have decided that chakra exhaustion did not equal needing to avoid taijutsu which his brother was probably capable of doing even with such a severe case of depleted chakra.

He suddenly felt another presence in his house. It made his blood nearly run cold. Madara was his friend but he had been acting out more and more out of character especially after the recent conversation they had. He shunshin'd away appearing by his brother's door. His first glance was at his brother who was thank the Kami still breathing and his second was at the man balancing on the windowsill blood red sharingan activated. "Madara! What is the meaning of this?" He implored. It couldn't be what he thought it was! Madara would never do such a thing!

Madara studied him carefully as if assessing his strengths and weaknesses. He didn't like the gaze. It reminded him of an enemy sizing him up before a fight. "Madara!" He yelled. "Answer me!" The man that used to be his friend smiled at him sickly. "Just a thought Hashirama, just a thought." Madara flickered out before he could get a decent response. His eyes widened as he went to check on the sentries he had posted to keep Tobirama from doing anything ridiculous such as training in his state. It seemed that they had been more necessary to keep someone out. Their throats were slit in the manner he had seen Madara kill with his Gumbai. It was then that he realized how truly far Madara had fallen. His eyes watered as he remembered the day Madara had given him the option of killing himself or his brother. He had understood then how much family meant. Madara may have sworn to protect Izuno but he should have never forgotten that Hashirama had made the same promise to himself. He would protect Tobirama even if it cost him his life. Madara may have been his friend but what he had attempted tonight was unforgivable.

Slipping back inside the room his gaze slid to his brothers sleeping form on the floor. Curled up next to him was Sarutobi his head full of light brown hair tucked under his Sensei's chin. His gaze softened; in the dimmed light he could almost see a likeness between Tobirama and the Hiruzun boy. The village really did bring the clans together as he had hoped. Asleep and without his head guard his brother looked so much younger than his impassive self. The peaceful expression on his brother's face caused the corners of his mouth to twitch into a smile. He frowned when another blast of wind entered through the window. He shook his head. His brother was a real baka sometimes. He pulled the blanket off his brothers bed and covered the two sleeping forms. Satisfied with his work he summoned two more operatives from what his brother was training to be the Anbu of Konoha.

He was about to leave before a surge of bittersweet pain hit his heart. He stopped at the door with a last look at his brother before going to his own room. "I swear I will protect you no matter what ototo even if it's from someone who I used to consider my friend."

He didn't know whether Madara would return or not but if he tried to hurt his ototo or his village Madara would pay. Hashirama was a Shinobi and he would endure. Except if Mito turned him down then he would be heartbroken. And eat his brother alive and smack himself on the head for using his brother's advice on how to get women.

* * *

-Gunbai is the paper fan thing Madara carries around


End file.
